Ren-Horng Wang (some people call me ‘James’) is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States and a graduate of a Masters of Public Administration at the Ohio State University with an emphasis in sustainable international development. He has also studied abroad in Prague, in the Czech Republic at the Czech national film school, FAMU.
If I may switch to first person to continue my introduction…
The Lusitania has been a hobby of mine since eighth grade and my first in-depth introduction was Hoehling and Hoehling’s The Last Voyage of the Lusitania. Wonderful book.
I must admit that I do not know everything about Lusitania. While I have much enthusiasm for the subject, I am just an archivist whose only claim to respectability comes from knowing a little webbuilding and receiving much support from visitors like you. Much of what is on this site was contributed by scores of people who know a lot more than I do.
I have been a proud member of the Titanic International Society since 2003.
When not running rmslusitania.info, I have dedicated much my time to nonprofit organizations.
- During the summer of 2004 I biked across the United States for Habitat for Humanity in a program called Bike and Build. We started in Providence, Rhode Island, on the Atlantic Coast, and finished in Seattle, Washington, on the Pacific shores, 3800+ miles (about 6150 km) and 9 weeks later. We raised enough money to completely fund a house in Providence that was completely built by volunteer student labor. You can see a video about our journey across the USA here.
- In 2007, I worked for AmeriCorps*NCCC, mostly doing Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita relief in the southern United States, working with the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club, and building houses for families in Mississippi and Louisiana. You can see a little bit about our work rebuilding New Orleans here.
- During 2008 and 2009, I worked with another NGO, Up with People, a global youth leadership program that travels to different cities and countries where participants do volunteer work and perform in shows in each city they go to.
I am also officially a marathon runner, having run my first marathon at Monaco in November 2004. Supposedly I should tackle the Boston Marathon next, but most likely not soon. Another goal of mine is to do a triathalon. This means, though, that I need to get to the pool because I’m really terrible at swimming.
Other things that you should probably know about me: I enjoy writing screenplays and short stories; reading novels, history books, encyclopedias, etc. In addition to history, I also enjoy reading about archaeology, astronomy, architecture, paleontology, and geology. I also enjoy painting, drawing, and movies. I’ve painted a few ship pictures, you can see them here on my deviantART profile. As I’m a big history buff of sorts, I’m a sucker for epic movies like Gone with the Wind, Doctor Zhivago, and of course, Titanic.
I must confess that I am lousy with e-mail. I don’t reply promptly enough a lot of times. If you don’t hear a reply from me, well, I’m not a jerk, but sometimes I act like one. If you don’t get a timely response to your e-mail, please send again! I’ll try not to lose it the second time!
But the point of this website is not to talk about me but to make available information about the Lusitania. So, enjoy your visit!
Contact: lusitania1915@gmail.com
